'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wAARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUH/8QAIxAAAQMCBQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDBAAhBRESMVEGBxMUI//EABUBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAID/8QAGBEAAwEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECESH/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/AMb6TkR4kxpa2NSZTXgcSi2aVOJBBOd7Z8b1aPc1+AfTi4THEeP8WwX3QdKbDZXApShcrSkU+n//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
IT: Welcome To Derry starts by bending time in a way that instantly messes with your head. During the final episode, the show makes it clear that Pennywise is not stuck moving forward like everyone else. He already knows how things end, who survives, and who will be born years later.
It is this final moment that reveals Pennywise's true nature and changes our very own perception of the entity, of Derry, and of Stephen King's universe. But hey, here is a mind-bending twist. What if, I told you that Stephen King has already played this exact time-bending card years ago, long before we were introduced to Derry?
The answer is simple. 11.22.63 starring James Franco did the heavy lifting first. It explored time as something dangerous and stubborn long before we set our hearts on Derry. And it did it so well that it still holds an 83 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Before IT: Welcome To Derry, Stephen King already play his card
When people talk about IT: Welcome To Derry, the big talking point is Pennywise knowing the future like it has already happened. He knows all at one single time. He remembers Richie Tozier before Richie could even exist. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow all feel the same to little Pennywise.
That idea sure did sweep us off of our feet but Stephen King had already tested this exact discomfort years earlier with 11.22.63.
In 11.22.63, time is not a cool sci-fi toy. It is a trap. Every trip into the past drags consequences behind it like loose chains.
The portal never changes. The date never shifts. No matter what Jake does, he always lands on the same day. That rule alone makes the whole thing feel cruel in the most Stephen King way.
What connects both of the shows together is their intent. Neither of the two shows treats time as something humans can possibly outsmart. Pennywise sees everything but still cannot escape his fate.
The Loser Club fights and defeat Pennywise yet they cannot possibly time travel and defeat him every 27 years back or forward. On the other hand, Jake wants to fix history but learns that history fights back. Different stories, same premise. Time does not care about good intentions.
James Franco's Jake walked so Pennywise could haunt the future
James Franco's Jake Epping is not your regular hero. He is exhausted, confused, and is being crushed by the weight of him knowing too much. That is where 11.22.63 lines up with IT: Welcome To Derry. Knowledge becomes the curse.
Jake knows what happens on November 22, 1963. Pennywise knows he dies in 2016. Both keep moving anyway. Jake keeps trying to change things even when the past starts pushing back with accidents and bad luck and Pennywise tries to scare Marge with the future, even though he cannot actually break it.
You see, the difference is scale. Jake is human. Pennywise is a cosmic entity. But the rule? Yup, that stays the same. You can see the ending, but you still have to walk toward it. Time itself becomes the monster, just quieter than a clown in a sewer.
It is easy to see why King keeps returning to this idea. Watching characters struggle against something already written is far more unsettling than watching them fight something unknown.
Why fans of IT: Welcome To Derry should revisit Stephen King's 11.22.63
If IT: Welcome To Derry left you debating online about what Pennywise can or cannot change, 11.22.63 is basically homework. It shows how Stephen King thinks about time when he strips away explanations.
The rules exist just because they exist. Both shows also live and breathe small town America. Derry hides rot under normal life. Jake's 1960s towns do the same. However, the biggest reason to watch 11.22.63 now is simple. It ends. Cleanly. You get a full story without waiting years for answers.
While IT: Welcome To Derry plans to move backward through decades, 11.22.63 already shows what happens when you spend too long fighting the past. Time wins. It always does. And Stephen King knew that long before Pennywise reminded us.
IT: Welcome To Derry might feel like a bold new step for Stephen King's TV universe, but 11.22.63 proved years ago that time is his sharpest weapon. With James Franco at the center, the miniseries explored fate, regret, and resistance in a way that still holds up.
If Pennywise's future, past, and present memories have unsettled you, this earlier adaptation hits just as well, though maybe a little bit too sadder.
Trending
Stay tuned to SoapCentral for more.
Reply
